will be honest; I have no idea where to start with this game. When the demo for Bayonetta began, the Sega team immediately boasted that it will become the most stylized game of 2009 – quite a big claim considering the competition. I wrote off the comment as PR speak until they started playing – then I was blown away. The demo was literally less than ten minutes, which was in no way enough time to process whatever it was that I saw.
Bayonetta is a witch, and the game takes the form of a stylized action/shooter. As soon as Bayonetta began walking – swaying in a way that would make Jessica Rabbit blush – I knew it would be easy to write her off as another pretty face wielding firearms. However, when she flipped forward into a handstand and began to take out enemies with guns attached to her high heeled boots, it became apparent she is in no danger of being mistaken for your average female protagonist.
The demo was chaos from there. Angelic baddies – complete with halos and wings – appeared out of nowhere and Bayonetta entered full action mode. Besides wielding a gun for each appendage, she also used her hair as a weapon. Bayonetta summoned portals, lengthening her black locks and sending them jutting through into approaching enemies. I noticed that as she used her hair for an attack, her outfit seemed to change. When I asked why this was, the team explained to me that Bayonetta’s outfit is actually made of hair, and when she summons that particular spell, her ensemble shrinks significantly. Sound strange enough yet?
Later on, we saw a more advanced hair attack that took the form of a large black dragon. We were told that her hair attacks are vast and that the surface was not even scratched in the demo. If you can believe it, the game got even more bizarre from there. Bayonetta also has the ability to summon torture weapons. While attacking one particular creature, she summoned a guillotine, strapped him to it and gave him an S&M style whipping before chopping off his head. Later on she also used a trumpet as a device of massive destruction. Seriously, I could not make this stuff up if I wanted to. The best part is that all the while Bayonetta is wreaking havoc, butterflies emerge from her footsteps, her blood blooms flower and similarly strange juxtaposed elements pop up.
Not much was revealed as far as gameplay beyond what we saw, other than it being explained that Halos are used to upgrade weapons and can be taken from her defeated foes. We also learned that when Bayonetta is able to dodge an attack, it activates “Witch Time” which slows down enough to deliver a devastating blow. If you want further clarification on how Bayonetta will play, all you have to do is look at the director of the game – Hideki Kamiya – the creator of the Devil May Cry series.
Bayonetta is definitely a game I am going to keep my eye on, and will update you with details as they become available. Bayonetta is in production for the 360 and PS3, and will release at some point in 2009.
